Rocket launcher



Nov. 11, 1947.- s. GOULD 2,430,636

ROCKET LAUNCHER Filed Feb. 12, 1946 V 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 ALBERT s. GOULD jfl dfi ATTORNEY A. s. GOULD ROCKET LAUNCHER Nov. 11, 1947.

- Filed Feb. 12, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ALBERT 5. GOULD ATTORNEY Nov. 11, 1947. A. s. GOULD 2,430,636

ROCKET LAUNCHER Filed Feb. 12, 1946 :s Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR ALBERT S. GOULD %fl fifl ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 11, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROCKET LAUNCHER Albert S... Gould, Inyokern, Califi, assignor to the United, States of America, as representedzby the Secretary of the Navy Application February 12, 1946, Serial No. 647,156

1 Claim. 1.

This invention relates to a launcher for rockets and more particularly to atubular launcher for spinner rockets.

A principal object of this invention is the provision of arocket launcher that may be operated by one man.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a launcher that may be installed on a machine gun mount interchangeable with a machine gun.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a launcher so constructed that a rocket may be loaded into either the muzzle end or the breech end.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a launcher that is efiicient, quickly sighted, and adapted to easy transportation.

Other objects will appear to those skilled in the art from a perusal of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a machine gun mount with the launcher installed thereon in accordance with the principles of the invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation, partially in section, of a portion of the breech end of the launcher.

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the launcher.

With particular reference to the drawings, the rocket launcher that forms the basis of this invention may be used in conjunction with a machine gun mount comprising a forward leg 2 and a pair of rearward legs 3. The legs are pivotally connected to a post 4 by suitable clamping devices having one or more handles 5. A saddle 6 is journalled on the post 4 to permit movement of the saddle 6 in all directions about the post 4 as a pivot.

The launcher proper comprises a tube having a forward fitting l2 and a, rearward fitting I3, both of the said fittings being adapted to be secured to the saddle 6. Within the tube II are secured at least three longitudinal rails l4, each of the rails being V-shaped in cross section. Their apices are designed to form the bearing surfaces for the rocket intended to be fired from the launcher, and they define a, circle approximating the diameter of the rocket. The rails are shown as being equally spaced but it is obvious that variations may be made in their relative positioning.

Fixed to the exterior of the under side of launcher tube H at its rear or breech end is a contact box 15. Within the contact box IE is a terminal block 6- to which isattached a firing cable leading toa battery or other source of electrical energy. A leaf spring I 8 extends rearwardly from the block [5 and is provided with a live contact element |-9 inthe form of a pointed pin that projects upwardly through a clearance hole provided in the tube II The spring I8 is under sufiicient stress to force the pin l9 against the rocket for the purpose of forming good electrical contact therewith. One conductor of the cable I! is connected to the leaf spring l8.

Secured to the outside of the tube adjacent to the upper breech end is a latch housing 2| of sheet metal. Within the latch housing 2| is a leaf spring 22 that is secured to the tube II and that carries a grounding contact element 23 in the form of a pointed pin that projects downwardly into the tube forwardly of the contact pin E9. The second conductor of the firing cable I! is electrically connected to the leaf spring 22 through the contact box l5 and tube I I At its rear end the latch housing 2| is provided with a transverse horizontal pin 24. Pivotally mounted on the pin 24 is an L-shaped latch lever 25, which includes a normally depending latch arm 26 and a normally rearwardly projecting lever arm 21. A coil spring 28 positioned about the pin 24 tends to rotate the latch lever 25 from its normal position to a rocket clearing position, the latter position being indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. The forward edge of the latch lever 25 is provided with a cam shoulder 29, which is adapted to be engaged by a retainer pawl 30 in the form of a slidable block guided within the latch housing 2|. The retainer pawl 30 is secured on a longitudinal stem 3| which extends between and is supported by a plurality of guides 32 provided in the latch housing 2| and fixed to the latter. The forward end of the stem 3| projects through the latch housing 2| and is provided with a knob 33. A coil spring 34 is loosely mounted about the stem 3| between the pawl 30 and the rearmost guide 32 for the purpose of urging the pawl 30 into latch engagement with the cam shoulder 29.

The muzzle extremity and the breech extremity of the tube II are each provided with two pairs of angularly disposed notches 35 that may receive cross wires for the purpose of boresighting the launcher tube Furthermore, if desired, one side of the tube may be provided with a mounting block 36 having a vertical dovetailed channel adapted to receive a suitable sighting device 31.

The operation of the device is as follows: Ordinarily the latch lever 25 is arranged as shown in the full lines in Fig. 1. In this position the cam shoulder 29 is retained by the sliding pawl 30 so that the latch arm 26 forms a stop for a missile within the launcher tube l I. When the latch lever is in this position, the tube H may receive a rocket only through the muzzle end. When it is desired to load from the breech end, the operator manually pulls forwardly on the knob 33. This will pull the stem 3| forward and thereby release the sliding pawl 30. The spring 28 will consequently rotate the latch lever 25 to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. The lever arm 21 will not now project into the interior of the tube H, and the rocket may consequently be inserted into the tube II from the breech end. When the rocket has been so loaded, the operator manually depresses the latch arm 26 until the cam shoulder 29 is again caught on the sliding pawl 30. With the rocket in position, the contacts I 9 and 23 will be in electrical conducting relationship with the metal portion of the rocket. Closing of the external circuit through the cable I! will fire the rocket. Utilization of the machine gun mount will permit better aiming and more emcient firing.

It will be seen therefore, that this invention provides a rocket launcher that is designed for either muzzle loading or breech loading and that is simple, safe, and efiicient to operate and easy to transport.

I claim:

A rocket launcher comprising'a tube, and latching means at the breech end of the said tube, the said latching means including a latch lever having a handle arm and a depending rocket positioning arm, means mounting the said latch 1ever for rotation in one direction to move the said depending arm clear of the bore of said tube whereby a rocket may be inserted into the breech end of the said tube, and mounting said latch lever for rotation in another direction to cause the said depending arm to engage and move the rocket to its firing position, and manually releasable locking means for locking the said latch lever in its rocket engaging position.

ALBERT S. GOULD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,108,716 Davis Aug. 25, 1914 1,294,240 Cooke Feb. 11, 1919 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 25,326 Great Britain 1894 

